The Unraveling of Olivia Rodrigo
On you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, pop’s resident sad girl chronicles the downfall of her happily ever after.
by Sofia Dawson
Olivia Rodrigo has been brutally honest, devastatingly heartbroken and dangerously love-sick since 2021’s “drivers license.” By the sheer nature of its title, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love stays true to Rodrigo’s deep-cutting lyricism and clever pop hooks.
The build of “stupid song” and the sheer vulnerability of “honeybee” kick off the record’s tour through romantic wreckage. “I love you baby, I promise… I hope I never see what your face looks like gone,” Rodrigo breathes shakily, cutting deep before a whimsical string orchestra softens the blow. “maggots for brains,” however, is where things pick up – the moment where you roll your car windows down and crank up the volume.
“my way” throws it back to the 2000s punk-girl grit she coined on her sophomore project, GUTS, Rodrigo spitting “Maybe I’m a petty bitch but you made me resort to this,” before cutting to an angry and restless outro.
Against the delicate strum of acoustic guitar, true to her nature, “begged” sees ghostly background vocals piercing the heartstrings as Rodrigo delicately declares “They say it’s a virtue to not let good love slip away.” “less” sets a similar scene, painting a picture of Rodrigo sitting at the piano as the stool cracks quietly beneath her. It’s stripped down, delicate, and truly allows her voice to fill up the empty space.
Unexpectedly announced during her set at this year’s Primavera Sound, “what’s wrong with me” with The Cure’s Robert Smith is an instant classic. Shifting gears from her last two records, “expectation” flips the script with a pulsing ‘80s-style synth, while “cigarette smoke” is reminiscent of Goo Goo Dolls – its devastating by-nature, melancholic in tone, and holds listeners tightly through belted confessions.
From vulnerable ballads to dreamy pop-rock, Rodrigo has yet again delivered an album to cry to, dance to, and to send to the ex-lover who wronged you. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love gathers every hallmark of Olivia Rodrigo’s songwriting into one place and ties it up with a neat little bow.
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